Penn State Nittany Lions
Current record: 21-10 (10-8)
Current RPI: 64
Current Sagarin: 56
Current Pomeroy: 79
2007-08 record: 15-16 (7-11)
2007-08 RPI: 155
2007-08 Sagarin: 115
2007-08 Pomeroy: 108
Series: IU leads 27-6 (25-6 since Penn State joined the Big Ten in 1992-93)
Last Penn State win: 2/21/2009 (61-58 in University Park)
Last IU win: 1/20/2008 (81-65 in Bloomington)
Big Ten Tournament history: IU leads 1-0 (77-49 in first round, 2003)
Pomeroy scouting report
TV: 5 pm Thursday, ESPN2

Today's Big Ten Tournament game could provide yet another negative milestone for the Hoosiers: as far as I can tell, IU has never lost three times in a season to a Big Ten team (or anyone else).   Penn State handled IU fairly well in Bloomington, but the game at Penn State, just a couple of weeks ago, was very competitive, and neither school led by more than 5 points in that game.  Penn State, despite the 10-8 record, doesn't have a signature non-conference win (at Georgia Tech is the closest) and probably can't afford to lose this game. 

As yesterday's Bucky's Fifth Quarter post indicated, the 11 seed hasn't had much success in this tournament.  In 1999, Illinois won three games and lost in the championship game (knocking off #3 IU in the process) but no other 11 seed has won a game. 

The Nittany Lions, while dangerous on the perimeter, certainly seem to be a more reasonable matchup than many other teams in the conference.  Unfortunately, IU seems likely to be playing without Devan Dumes again.  The most recent Penn State game was Dumes's last full game, and he scored 16 points on 5-9 and 4-7 from three point range. 

A win won't salvage the season, and likely would set up another loss to Purdue, but it would be something for this team to take pride in as they enter the offseason.